菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Translated by the Śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou under the Later Qin

3.2

Chapter 6: Perception and Non-Perception

Then the Bhagavat said to Maitreya Bodhisattva: "Within this assembly now there are no disparate types; all are purely [bodhisattvas] bound to one more birth (ekajātipratibaddha). Now consciousness (vijñāna), ideation (saṃjñā), and sensation (vedanā)—and absence of consciousness, absence of ideation, absence of sensation—shall be taught. At this time, how does a bodhisattva speak of consciousness, ideation, and sensation? Here the bodhisattva discriminates and speaks of consciousness, ideation, and sensation: consciousness is neither ideation nor sensation; sensation is neither consciousness nor ideation; ideation is neither sensation nor consciousness. Ideation is not past, not future, and not present; sensation is not past, not future, and not present; consciousness is not past, not future, and not present. Non-consciousness is not past, not future, and not present; non-ideation is not past, not future, and not present; non-sensation is not past, not future, and not present. How is consciousness not past, future, or present? Here the bodhisattva enters the unobstructed samādhi and transforms beings who perceive consciousness, leading them from the stage of abiding to the stage of non-abiding. This consciousness is not past, not future, and not present. Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva transforms beings who perceive ideation, leading them from the stage of abiding to the stage of non-abiding. The bodhisattva transforms beings who perceive sensation, leading them from the stage of abiding to the stage of non-abiding."

3.4

Then the Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "Bhagavat! What is the distinction between mind (manas), thought (citta), consciousness (vijñāna), sensation (vedanā), and ideation (saṃjñā)?"

3.5

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "To know the body is to know the distinction. For the sake of sentient beings, the limbs and joints from the feet to the head each have distinct names, just as the Sūtra on the Parable of the Tree says: 'Because of roots, bark, trunk, nodes, branches, and leaves, it is called a tree.' Mind, thought, consciousness, sensation, and ideation are also like this."

3.6

Mahākāśyapa addressed the Buddha, saying: "Ideation is an external dharma; sensation is an internal dharma. How could they be one?"

3.7

The Buddha asked Mahākāśyapa: "Does ideation come from outside, or does it emerge from within?"

3.8

Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha, saying: "Ideation comes from outside. How is this known? If there were no form outside, how could internal ideation arise? If external things do not inflict harm, how could the interior know pain?"

3.9

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "This matter is not so. Why? This consciousness is neither external, nor internal, nor in the middle between the two. The dwelling place of consciousness is not the dwelling place of consciousness. External ideation and external sensation are precisely internal dharmas, not external dharmas. When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva faithfully understands the profound dharmas of internal, external, and the middle, only then can he comprehend the dwelling place of consciousness—that this is a sentient being, this is not a sentient being, up to existing and non-existing dharmas being neither this nor that—whereupon he enters the unimpeded, solitary-stride samādhi."

3.10

Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha, saying: "Now hearing this teaching increases my doubts. Why? As the Buddha has spoken: ideation is also sensation, sensation is also ideation; when the dharma of consciousness is analyzed, consciousness is also ideation, and also sensation and ideation; ideation is inherently empty of sensation, sensation is inherently empty of consciousness, and consciousness is inherently empty of ideation. Emptiness is not the emptiness of consciousness; the emptiness of consciousness is not the emptiness of sensation; the emptiness of sensation is not the emptiness of ideation. Like the parable of the tree, this matter is not so."

3.11

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "I shall speak a parable for you; the wise attain understanding through parables. In the past there was a king whose name was extraordinary. The king had four sons: the first was named Joyous; the second was named Long Life; the third was named Hundred Years; the fourth was named Fearless. That son named Long Life died before completing a full month. As for the Joyous son, his body developed sores and ulcers, and whoever saw him despised him; his parents were weary and troubled by him, and were never happy. The son named Hundred Years also met his death before completing a hundred days. The Fearless son had a hare-lip, a flat nose, crooked teeth, and protruding fangs; people saw him and were terrified. This is also like that: ideation, sensation, and consciousness have no such various distinctions."

3.12

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "I will now explain to you the distinct analysis of consciousness, ideation, and sensation. Ninety-one kalpas ago, there was a king named Wisdom, who devoted himself to practicing the ten virtues and governed with the Dharma without defilements. Observing the movements of the minds of beings, he knew that the thoughts of those beings were not identical. He then sent attendant ministers to tour the realm, summoning all who were blind to gather in the palace courtyard. The ministers received the king's order, went out and toured the realm, obtained five hundred blind persons, and brought them into the courtyard. The king then arranged five hundred white elephants in rows before the palace hall, instructing the blind persons to grasp the elephants as they wished. At that time, the blind persons grasped either the elephant's trunk, or the elephant's ears, or the elephant's head, or the elephant's feet, or the elephant's belly, or the elephant's tail. The king asked the blind persons: 'What is the elephant like?' The blind persons replied: the one grasping the trunk said, 'Like a horn'; the one grasping the head said, 'Like a jar'; the one grasping the ears said, 'Like a winnowing basket'; the one grasping the belly said, 'Like a round basket'; the one grasping the feet said, 'Like a pillar'; the one grasping the tail said, 'Like a peg.' At that time, sighted onlookers laughed at those blind persons for failing to grasp the complete form of the elephant. In a private place, the blind persons debated among themselves, each claiming to be right and quarreling with one another. This class of sentient beings is also like this: the dharmas of consciousness, ideation, and sensation are each different."

3.13

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "Just as if someone set out a hundred flavors of food—non-glutinous rice, beans, wheat, and large and small hemp seeds—when a person gets the non-glutinous rice, he does not know that there are other kinds such as beans and wheat. Kāśyapa! This is also like that: the dharmas of consciousness, ideation, and sensation are each different, yet when contemplating the nature of all dharmas, there is no variance and no distinction."

3.14

Then the Bhagavat spoke verses to Kāśyapa, saying:

3.15

"Seeing the forehead, one knows there is a head; / Viewing smoke, one knows there is fire; / Looking upon clouds, one knows there is rain; / Observing activities, one knows the essential nature. / Rain from the sky has no two feet; / The reflection in water cannot be grasped. / The Dharma master exhausts speech and discourse; / Nirvāṇa exhausts the fetters. / When ideation is exhausted, one resides in non-ideation; / When sensation ceases, there is also no sensation; / When consciousness ceases, there is no consciousness: / Such is the brahma-conduct of the unsurpassable path. / For countless kalpas, / I was constantly deluded by consciousness; / In this world and future worlds, / I met no place of peace and joy. / Now that I reside in the womb, / I analyze the marks of all dharmas; / I do not see the designations of ideation and sensation, / Much less could there be the dharma of consciousness."

3.16

At that time, when the Bhagavat spoke this verse, five hundred monks attained the tolerance of non-arising dharmas (anutpattikadharmakṣānti), and a thousand beings took joy in their minds in the practice of emptiness and attained mastery of mind regarding the realm of nirvāṇa without remainder.

3.17

Chapter 7 of the Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra: Abiding and Non-Abiding

3.18

At that time, within the assembly there was a bodhisattva named Practice of the Dharma of Non-Abiding, who rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, joined his palms, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "Excellent, excellent! This great assembly has indeed gained wonderful benefit, being able to hear the Tathāgata's immeasurable Dharma meanings, which we vowed in the past to hear and only now have heard!" He then praised the Buddha in verse, saying:

3.19

"Empty space has no boundary, / Expressing immeasurable meanings; / Existence and non-existence neither arise nor cease, / Tranquil, without sensation or ideation. / All the past Buddhas / Practiced giving, morality, and patience; / Entering meditation, their minds were undistracted; / The light of wisdom illuminates the world. / Their virtues cannot be measured, / Neither existing nor non-existing. / Their voice and sound are exceedingly clear and subtle, / Without equal and without match; / With a single sound replying to ten thousand kotis, / Thereby they attained Buddhahood. / The sound of the Dharma drum is heard from afar, / Each and every sound distinct; / Just as when a wheel-turning king / Desires, and it rains the seven treasures, / So the Buddha's voice vibrates immensely far, / Raining the jewels of the seven bodhyaṅgas. / Adorning the site of awakening (bodhimaṇḍa), / Ornamenting the fruit of the Bodhi Tree; / Neither abiding nor non-abiding, / Compassionately protecting sentient beings. / Mindfully possessing all bodily marks, / Not shrinking from the hardships of kalpas. / The Tathāgatas of the ten directions / Unseal the seal and open the Dharma treasury; / We now have come to hear it / And can abide upon the unconditioned shore. / Excellent is the Tathāgata's power, / Vast, without shore or bottom! / Liberating from bondage, not dwelling in existence, / The dharma of the true limit (bhūtakoṭi) and real mark (dharmatā); / In the defiled world of the desire realm, / Teaching and transforming the foolish. / The Buddha's secret, profound treasury of meaning / Is displayed and revealed to sentient beings; / In realms without limit, / All attain the unsurpassable path."

3.20

At that time, after the Bodhisattva Non-Abiding had praised the Buddha with these verses, he addressed the Buddha, saying: "The five skandhas of the past, future, and present are pure, neither abiding nor non-abiding; up to the brahma-conduct of the thirty-seven factors [of enlightenment] being neither abiding nor non-abiding. The spheres of before, after, and in between are ultimately pure and impure emptiness, neither abiding nor non-abiding. I do not act, nor do I not act; it is neither brahma-conduct nor non-brahma-conduct. I only pray that the Bhagavat will speak of abiding and non-abiding."

3.21

The Buddha told Bodhisattva Non-Abiding: "The characteristic of form is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the characteristic of sensation is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the characteristic of ideation is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the characteristic of formations is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the characteristic of consciousness is neither abiding nor non-abiding. The purity of internal dharmas is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the purity of external dharmas is neither abiding nor non-abiding; the purity of internal and external dharmas is neither abiding nor non-abiding. From the initial generation of the thought [of enlightenment] up to the site of awakening, severing all ideations and purifying all-knowledge is neither abiding nor non-abiding. Removing the defilements of beings into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; adorning the Buddha-lands into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; entering the vajrasamādhi and solidifying one's resolve into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; shattering the body into śarīra into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; sporting in hundreds of thousands of samādhis into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; not residing in the stage of ordinary beings and not entering the emptiness of sages into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding; not proclaiming of oneself, 'I have attained the fruit of the path,' into purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding. The thirty-two marks of a great man emit great radiance illuminating immeasurable worlds in the ten directions from afar, and all beings, following the light, arrive and are able to hear the Tathāgata's profound Dharma; matching their thoughts with superior, middling, and inferior words, he completely satisfies them all in discriminating all dharmas, which both abide and do not abide, and neither abide nor do not abide. Form, sensation, ideation, formations, and consciousness; the twelve links of dependent origination; the four unobstructed knowledges (pratisaṃvid); emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; the four dhyānas and the four immeasurable wisdoms—their purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding. By the power of supernatural feet entering the five destinies—its purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding. Entering the gates of liberation—the body of morality, the body of concentration, the body of wisdom, the body of liberation, and the body of liberation's knowledge and vision—their purity is neither abiding nor non-abiding."

3.22

The Buddha told Kāśyapa: “Now I shall explain the eight pools of the pure ambrosial flavor of the Dharma. What are the eight? For instance, as I today sit in the Hall of Sovereign Discourse and look eastward upon the pure bathing pool surrounded by balustrades composed of the seven treasures, at that time I also do not preach suffering, origin, cessation, and path to sentient beings; by drinking this pool's water, all achieve the fruit of the Way. This is called that which is wrought by the supernatural power of a bodhisattva. In the south, west, and north, it is also like this. When I originally attained Buddhahood, I did so from the four cardinal directions moving to the right, not attaining Buddhahood from the four intermediate directions. Attaining Buddhahood from the four intermediate directions is merely a manifestation of attaining Buddhahood and is not real. Why is this? Because through countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, the Dharma of eight flavors has been perfected. What are the eight? First is the flavor of joy; second is the flavor of exhaustion; third is the flavor of concentration; fourth is the flavor of arrival; fifth is the flavor of stillness; sixth is the flavor of marks; seventh is the flavor of immobility; eighth is the flavor of the non-ultimate. These are the eight flavors of the bathing pool. If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva drinks this ambrosial liquid, he will not enter the hells, hungry ghosts, or animals, but will achieve the unexcelled Way. From initial resolve up to the tree of awakening, the defilements of his mind are washed away and permanently exhausted without remainder. What are the pools of the seven limbs of awakening and the waters of the eight liberations? When the mind initially attains liberation, it has not yet reached the intermediate state; once it has reached it, having reached the intermediate state it abides on two grounds, and only then does one receive the designation of ‘bodhisattva.’ Furthermore, if a bodhisattva distinguishes the scents and flavors from the water of the eight pools: this flavor is non-flavor, this way is non-way; the ear does not distinguish sounds, the nose does not distinguish scents, the tongue does not distinguish flavors. When each and every distinction is absent, because all dharmas are deaf, this is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva purely cultivating pure conduct.”

3.23

Chapter Eight: The Eight Kinds of Bodies in the Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra

3.24

The Buddha told the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who had assembled: “Those in training, those beyond training, and the fourfold assembly—monks, nuns, upāsakas, and upāsikās—are all worthy of being venerated by all sentient beings. Some sentient beings attain unexcelled, complete, and perfect awakening by means of these eight stages: the stage of seeing, the stage of thinning, the stage of purity, the stage of the Tathāgata, the stage of the pratyekabuddha, the stage of non-retrogression, the stage of the bodhimanda, and the stage of expounding the Dharma. What is the stage of seeing? It is when a bodhisattva gives rise to the aspiration and sets out toward anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Furthermore, there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who, from their initial resolve up to sitting beneath the tree of awakening, subdue their own minds wishing to overcome all māras, immediately entering samādhi while upon the seat. Those samādhis are: the samādhi that removes jealousy, the samādhi of the mind victorious, the samādhi of the secret treasury, the samādhi that eradicates delusion, the samādhi that subdues through majesty, the samādhi without verbal teaching like that of all Buddhas and Bhagavats, and the samādhi of manifesting transformations. At that time, when the evil Māra Pāpīyas came to disturb the Buddha, he was not able to come by his own power; it was entirely evoked through the Tathāgata's majestic power. Why is this? Because he wished to show that worldly dharmas are inferior, while the ultimate truth is superior. Why is this? Just as when the evil Māra Pāpīyas gave rise to a furious and harmful mind and his voice shook the earth, the Buddha, by means of the samādhi of forbearance, remained unmoved and unshaken, causing the countless host of evil māras to fall topsy-turvy to the ground, just like leeches, ants, and flies unable to move. Evil Māra Pāpīyas was also like this: when the māra came, he could not move a single hair of mine. At that time, the Bhagavat immediately entered samādhi through his majestic power, moving an entire Buddha-realm to become filled with evil māras, causing these māras to spread evil voices: ‘The śramaṇa Gautama is weak-willed and lacks the spirit of a great man; in this place of great terror, he wishes to seek the Buddha Way!’”

3.25

The Buddha told the great assembly: “Evil Māra Pāpīyas was created by me. As for that māra’s mind, was it an evil mind or was it a good mind?”

3.26

At that time, there was a devaputra named Gopi who said to the Buddha: “The Buddha subduing the māra was not due to the māra’s power, but was the Buddha’s supernatural power. Why is this? That class of sentient beings did not understand worldly conventions or the truths of the Way; it was because he wished to transform sentient beings that he caused the māra to come. When any sentient beings saw the māras, their minds felt no desire or pleasure [in them], like the comparison of the Thousand-Eyed One; tens of millions in the assembly had their minds established in the stage of non-retrogression.”

3.27

“Furthermore, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are born from Trāyastriṃśa Heaven into the lands of the ten directions, not relying on moisture-born, egg-born, apparitional, or womb-born birth to teach and transform sentient beings. These bodhisattvas accomplish indeterminate roots, and the sentient beings they transform also accomplish indeterminate roots. Which is this? It is the realm of Akṣobhya Buddha. Or there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who are born from the Sahā World into the Light-Shadow Buddha-land in the north, accomplishing determinate and indeterminate roots, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they all accomplish determinate and indeterminate roots; these are the sentient beings of the Wonderful Light Buddha-land in the World of Desired Pleasures. Or there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who, from their initial resolve up to attaining Buddhahood, keep their minds single-pointed without diverse thoughts, free from anger and wrath, aspiring and wishing to be born in the land of Amitāyus Buddha. All the sentient beings who are born there—the fourfold assembly of monks, nuns, upāsakas, and upāsikās—are all of the same golden color. Twelve hundred million nayutas west of this Jambudvīpa, there is the Realm of Indolence. The land is joyful, where performers make music, garments and adornments with incense and flowers adorn revolving beds of the seven treasures; when one raises the eyes to look east, the jeweled bed turns accordingly, and when looking north, west, or south, it also turns likewise. Sentient beings who have previously or subsequently made the resolve, wishing to be born in the land of Amitābha Buddha, all become attached to the land of indolence, unable to advance to be born in the land of Amitābha Buddha. Among hundreds of millions of beings, only once in a while is there one person able to be born in the land of Amitābha Buddha. Why is this? It is entirely due to indolence and the mind not being firmly held. Such sentient beings do not kill living beings themselves, and also teach others not to kill; through this karmic reward, they are born in the land of Amitāyus. Or there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who are complete in the six perfections—giving, morality, forbearance, diligence, meditation, and liberating wisdom—and are born in the southern Leaping Buddha-land, one hundred million Buddha-lands away from this Jambudvīpa. Those sentient beings are without thoughts of foolish attachment or lustful desire. Why is this? Because from the desire realm they have severed and eliminated thirty-six kinds of lustful conduct; their lineage is perfected and their practice is pure, like the sunlight without any dust or veil. The sentient beings of that land practice the thirteen ascetic practices (dhūtas). What are the thirteen? Three times each during day and night, without losing the proper times, walking and sitting in meditation, whether under trees, among graves, in open spaces, on rocks in uninhabited places, or by water springs; sometimes taking a single meal, or not taking food; their Dharma robes neat and orderly, without losing deportment; sometimes preaching the Dharma, or not preaching the Dharma; walking about, content and satisfied. In whatever Dharma they preach, having few desires is the true Way and having many desires is not the Way; calming the mind and concentrating the thoughts, they understand the dharmas of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. Such are the practices of the bodhisattvas in the Leaping World. The sentient beings of that land study purely the One Vehicle, without the vehicles of the arhat or pratyekabuddha; endowed with the marks and signs, they praise the true Dharma and understand emptiness and selflessness.”

3.28

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke verses, saying:

3.29

“All conditioned phenomena have already ceased,
Consciousness is an external dharma;
All who are born entirely return to an end,
Nirvāṇa is the supreme bliss.
I take refuge in the Leaping Buddha,
The Dharma King, foremost and supreme;
Sitting beneath the jambu tree,
He first shattered the net of desire,
Preached the Dharma to deliver the people,
And made offerings to the fields of merit.
Sitting beneath the tree in contemplation,
The King of Brahmā came to beseech him:
‘May the Honored One awake from dhyāna,
Pitying the foolish and deluded people.’
At that time, the King Mahābrahmā,
Holding a lapis lazuli lute in hand,
Praised the Buddha’s merits
With a soft, harmonious, and elegant voice:
‘In hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas,
Only occasionally is the aspiration for the Way aroused;
The aspiration for the Way is the root of a bodhisattva,
Occurring only once in millions of kalpas;
May you swiftly arise from dhyāna,
And turn the unexcelled wheel of the Dharma.
Just like the uḍumbara flower,
Occurring only once in a great while;
The Buddha appears to illumine the world,
Dispelling the darkness of defilements.’
In the Leaping Buddha’s world,
Hearing the pure precepts and giving,
It is not like the Able-to-Endure Land,
Which is obstinate and difficult to transform.
Contemplating the path of dhyāna,
Destroying the body without receiving realization,
Turning thrice the five obstructing dharmas,
And the twelve entangling bonds;
The thirty-two tasks of the Way,
And the sixteen minds of compassionate sorrow.
In countless kalpas of antiquity,
He vowed with a vajra-like resolve;
Emitting a great radiance,
It shines everywhere across all Buddha-realms.”

3.30

At that time, having spoken the verses, the Buddha told those in the assembly: “Five hundred Ganges sands of lands to the northeast of this Able-to-Endure World, there is a country named Fruit Matured. The Buddha's name is Huaying (Flower Radiance) Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇāṃ, Buddha, Bhagavat. He is now presently preaching the Dharma: good in its beginning, good in its middle, and good in its end; its meaning and flavor profound, identical to the pure life of brahma-conduct. Sentient beings in that land have no womb-born, apparitional, moisture-born, or egg-born birth; they are born from lotus flowers. With benevolence, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, and the one hundred and seven rare supernatural bases of concentration, they all practice the Samādhirāja Samādhi together. All the samādhis are: the Śūraṅgama Samādhi, the samādhi of awakening to the Way, the samādhi of deportment and prohibitory precepts, the samādhi that eradicates the root of sentient beings’ suffering, the samādhi of self-illuminating radiance, and the samādhi of awakening the flavor of sentient beings—such one hundred and seven samādhis. Contemplating the body internally, contemplating the body externally, contemplating the body internally and externally; internal dharmas, external dharmas, internal and external dharmas; internal concentration, external concentration, internal and external concentration; contemplating, distinguishing, observing, and understanding them as formless, signless, and thoughtless, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas enter the doors of liberation and contemplate all dharmas as empty, tranquil, and formless.”

3.31

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke verses, saying:

3.32

“Space has no boundaries,
Its sound proclaims the wondrous Dharma;
For the people of the Fruit Matured land,
Huaying is the most supreme Honored One.
Not relying on the four wombs,
They are spontaneously born from lotuses;
Without thoughts of self or others,
Their life spans cannot be measured.
The country is formed of the seven treasures,
Just like Jambudvīpa;
A wheel-turning king of the seven treasures,
With the treasures of elephant, horse, and jade maiden,
The fourfold army in his treasury,
The jewel and the golden wheel treasure,
Going wherever without obstruction.
The mani jewels of that realm
Universally illumine a single Buddha-land;
There is no illumination from sun or moon,
Constellations, or firelight.
Distinguishing the four subtle truths;
The way of impermanence, suffering, and emptiness,
Causing those kinds of sentient beings
To be free from thoughts of non-arising and annihilation.”

3.33

At that time, having spoken the verses, the Buddha told those in the assembly: “Seventy thousand Ganges sands of lands to the northwest of this Jambudvīpa, there is a country named Vaidūrya Treasure. The Buddha's name is Accomplished in Wisdom Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇāṃ, Buddha, Bhagavat. He is now presently preaching the Dharma: good in its beginning, good in its middle, and good in its end. The nature of sentient beings in that land is gentle and pliant; observing the Way is impermanent, they have left behind the three afflictions, being without lust, anger, or delusion, and free from the three evil paths of hells, hungry ghosts, and animals.”

3.34

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke verses for the great assembly, saying:

3.35

"The pathways of all sense-bases and afflictions, / along with the four inversions, / are entirely and eternally eliminated, / like empty space devoid of form.
Their lifespans are countless; / none die untimely midway.
Practicing the four dharmas of fearlessness, / they achieve the fruit and are unshakable.
Those born in that land / receive the retribution of practicing the loving-kindness samādhi.
Like me, Śākyamuni, / who heroically bypassed kalpas,
giving away kingdom, wealth, wife, and children, / abandoning conceptual thought with nothing longed for,
you, all disciples of the Buddha, / make the vow to be born there!
There is also no Śrāvaka Dharma [there]; / through causes and conditions, each attains the Buddha path.
Even if one practiced the virtues of the Way with diligence and toil / in this world for hundreds of thousands of kalpas,
one would still be unable to obtain / a sixteenth part of that.
Contemplating all dharmas through their dharmatā, / wisdom penetrates without obstruction;
extinguishing the mind of self and ego, / one abides immediately in the stage of non-arising.
The living beings of that land / establish their resolve on the steadfast Dharma;
destroying existence, they do not abide in existence— / such is the practice of those bound to one birth.
You, all disciples of the Buddha, / understand non-action:
relinquishing meditation to enter the first dhyāna, / one first knows the suffering of living beings;
with the nine non-obstructions in between, / the marks of dhyāna are immeasurable;
the minds of living beings are pure, / each having different thoughts.
Having already departed the abyss of the five paths, / the Buddha-sun shines upon the three realms;
excellent it is to gain great benefit, / moving all the heavenly palaces!
The pristine wisdom of omniscience / transforms and guides without fatigue;
living beings attain loving hearts, / yearning for the unsurpassed Way.
Through countless kalpas, / casting off bodies and taking on bodies again,
turning in the cycle of birth and death, / from fetters they attain liberation from fetters.
The four truths are like sandalwood incense / and finely pounded benzoin incense;
by the power of samādhi and wisdom, / they destroy the armies of Māra.
By what samādhi is the knot of past single-thought cut?
By what concentration, what path, is the knot of future two-thoughts removed?
The knot of present three-thoughts / must have a root to be thoroughly eradicated.
The knot of past single-thought / has ninety thousand kotis of defilements;
by means of the pure concentration of emptiness, / one reaches the shore of emptiness and non-being.
In the future there are no nine knots; / the concentrated mind has no conceptual thought;
tranquilly reaching the Buddha path, / it dwells forever without anywhere to abide.
May the Dharma be unhindered / regarding the present three times nine knots;
eliminating mind, intellect, and consciousness, / one gradually abides and reaches unobstructedness."

3.36

After the Buddha had spoken this verse, he addressed the great assembly: "To the southwest, past thirty-two Ganges sands of lands from this Sahā World, there is a realm named Non-Thought. The Buddha's name is Ekasthāna Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasampanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat. He is present now, teaching the Dharma—good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end—its meaning and flavor profound, discerning the five aggregates—form, sensation, perception, mental formations, consciousness—the six faculties, and the six dusts, practicing the contemplation of impermanence with mindfulness fixed before him. The initial contemplation of the Dharma shatters the delusions regarding the body: this body is non-existent, a dwelling for four serpents; this body is like poison, ruining one's path of dhyāna; this body is like a crow, its mind never satisfied; this body is like a dragon, taking delight in abiding in deep abysses. The Buddha path is unconditioned, pure, and flawless; like a lotus flower in water, unsullied by dust and dirt; like the sun illuminating heaven and earth, eclipsing the light of fireflies; like the many mountains towering up, with Mount Sumeru as the supreme; like the faint glimmer of the multitude of stars, with the bright moon as the foremost; so too, when the Tathāgata appears in the world, the lamp of Dharma is the most supreme."

3.37

At that time the Bhagavat spoke a verse, saying:

3.38

"Severing defilements and eliminating perceptions, / the mind of clinging is liberated;
thoughts are tranquilly concentrated, / and pure conduct is fully perfected.
In a single thought and a single moment, / one cuts off the traces of the fetters;
eradicating the suffering of eternal kalpas, / causing it to be extinguished, never to arise again.
The unsurpassed path of emptiness and tranquility / seems to exist yet seems not to exist;
self, other, and the various consciousnesses / are like dreams, shadows, and illusory images.
A bodhisattva accumulates ascetic practices / for a number of kalpas difficult to measure;
desiring to exhaust the root, / it is of neither one nor two forms.
If there is a person of wisdom, / their mouth expounds immeasurable meanings;
a single meaning has billions of phrases, / each phrase distinct from the next;
empty space could be filled up, / but their meanings cannot be exhausted.
From the beginning in the past, / I practiced the six perfections;
giving eliminates thoughts of greed, / and meditative concentration is likewise.
When the kalpa burns, the mind remains unmoved, / not going to other Buddha lands;
moved by spiritual power, / one abides during the kalpa to teach and transform."

3.39

At that time, having spoken this verse, the Bhagavat adorned his body with concentrated mindfulness and addressed the assembly: "To the southeast, past thirty-three Ganges sands of lands from this Sahā World, there is a realm named Lapis Lazuli. The Buddha's name is Adhimukti Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasampanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat. He is present now, teaching the Dharma—good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end—discerning the auspicious practices of the four paths, where after seven rebirths and another three, one returns no more, attaining parinirvāṇa in the present life. Cutting off duḥkha and samudaya and realizing nirodha, they take up the path and attain realization."

3.40

At that time there was a deva named Eye of Purity in that assembly who harbored doubt in his heart: 'Now I should ask the Tathāgata about this meaning, so that those of my kind may all attain awakening.' At that time, the deva arose from his seat, knelt on both knees, joined his palms, stepped forward, and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'We pray only that the Bhagavat will speak for us on the karmas of lust, anger, and ignorance in the impartial Mahāyāna. How do living beings of the past, future, and present who are obscured by ignorance enter the gate of liberation?'

3.41

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Eye of Purity: 'Excellent, excellent! You open the eyes of all beings. Listen closely now, listen closely, and ponder it well! I shall distinguish it for you one by one. Is the eye form?'

3.42

He answered: 'No.'

3.43

The Buddha asked again: 'Is it non-form?'

3.44

He replied: 'No.'

3.45

The Buddha asked again: 'Is it both form and non-form?'

3.46

He replied: 'Form has no place of abiding.'

3.47

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Eye of Purity: 'As you say, it is form and non-form. If form and non-form have no place of abiding, how can a name be established and called "form"?'

3.48

The Bodhisattva Eye of Purity addressed the Buddha: 'The nature of form has long been ruined: the present ceases and does not abide, the past is not present, and this life and future lives are eternally and utterly extinguished without remainder; hence it is called nirvāṇa without remainder.'

3.49

The Buddha told Eye of Purity: 'From what has this consciousness arisen from the beginning? Today, when the four assemblies extinguish the defilements of the three times, to where do they go?'

3.50

Eye of Purity addressed the Buddha: 'Originally it came from emptiness, and now it returns to emptiness.'

3.51

The Buddha said: 'What difference is there between the prior emptiness and the subsequent emptiness?'

3.52

He replied: 'There is none. One should know that the dharmatā of all dharmas cannot be exhausted in the beginning and cannot be brought to an end in the conclusion.'

3.53

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Eye of Purity: 'Over countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, I accumulated and practiced meritorious deeds, universally mindful of all drowning living beings, compassionately feeling pity for their suffering and wishing to deliver them. Why is this? Now that I am in the womb, all that I wished to eliminate has already been completely eliminated; the fruit, vow, and retribution have been obtained today. The living beings of that land do not consider becoming a Buddha or not becoming a Buddha as a burden. Why is this? The living beings of that land establish heroic resolve: they do not abide in a womb of existence, they do not abide in a womb of non-existence, and they do not abide in apparitional birth; their merit is perfected, neither awakening nor non-awakening. What is awakening? What is non-awakening? That I awaken all living beings who are foolish is awakening. That all trainees cut off their fetters is non-awakening.'

3.54

At that time the Bhagavat spoke a verse, saying:

3.55

"The Awakened Buddha appears in the world, / emitting great radiance afar;
extinguishing the fetters of duḥkha and samudaya, / he stands alone, with none daring to approach.
Even if the earth should shake / and the three realms be reduced to dust,
one who maintains the mind and enters samādhi / sees the various marks as each not different.
Mindful of the ultimate reality, the Tathāgata / eliminates conceptual thought without entering dhyāna;
returning into the midst of living beings, / through created causes he further creates conditions.
With vigor, courage, and wisdom, / he transforms and guides foolish people;
leading the kinds of living beings, / those who can be delivered and those who cannot."

3.56

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter 9: Whole-Body Śarīras

3.57

At that time the Bhagavat addressed those assembled: 'Recalling the merit I practiced in ancient times, discarding bodies and receiving bodies not once or twice, I shall now explain to you the dharma of the single form. What is called the dharma of the single form? The earth element of this great earth is eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick; beneath it is a sharp wind, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick; beneath the wind is water, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick; beneath the water is fire, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick; beneath the fire is sand, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick; beneath the sand is a vajra realm, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick. The whole-body śarīras of the Buddhas are all within that vajra realm. The vajra realm is furthermore eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick, and beneath it are the fractured-body śarīras of the Buddhas, all within that realm. There is a Buddha realm named Wonderful Sound. The Buddha is named Apratiṣṭhita Tathāgata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, presently teaching the Dharma—good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end—practicing the pure brahma-conduct in that perfected land. That Buddha's śarīras are extremely small and subtle, yet able to manifest the Buddha's body, disciples, and retinue, moving about to teach and transform, just as I am today dwelling in the womb and teaching the Dharma. Those living beings do not see me, and these living beings of mine do not see them; breaking through existence to reach non-existence, their nature is eternally tranquil, abiding in a place without doubt. This is what is moved by a single śarīra.'
The Buddha further addressed those assembled: 'Beneath the fractured-body śarīras, eight hundred and forty billion leagues down, there is a land named Pure. The Buddha is named Samantaprabha, fully endowed with the ten epithets. That Buddha is presently teaching the Dharma—good in the beginning, middle, and end—practicing the pure brahma-conduct. That Buddha's radiance has various colors, and each light brings a Buddha to accomplishment; each of those Buddhas fully expounds the six perfections. What are the six perfections? Giving, morality, patience, vigor, meditative concentration, and wisdom. Through skillful means they subdue the mind and consciousness, generating no foolishness, free from lust and desire, clearly observing dharmas like the moon dispersing clouds. Furthermore, observing one's own body, self and other are not different; the mind attains the concentration of emptiness, all being accomplished; seated upright in the bodhimanda, praising the true Dharma without faint-heartedness.
Eight hundred and forty billion leagues below this radiant Buddha land, there is a land named Inexhaustible Store of Giving. The Buddha is named Avalokanasāhāyya Tathāgata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, presently teaching the Dharma—good in the beginning, middle, and end—constantly practicing the brahma-conduct. As for the goods he bestows, if someone holds them, they attain the fruit of the path; this is called a single unprecedented gift of the Tathāgata.
Beneath the Inexhaustible World there is the Dharma Drum World, eight hundred and forty billion leagues thick. The Buddha is named Sudarśana, fully endowed with the ten epithets, presently teaching the Dharma. The living beings of that land all share a single surname and a single personal name, without diverse names; upon hearing the Dharma, they immediately understand it without needing to reflect on it again. In that land there are whole-body śarīras; hundreds of thousands of kotis of past Buddhas all left behind śarīras. Of the śarīras in that land, I also have a share, not merely one or two. That Buddha's śarīras do not abide in one place, nor do they not abide; they travel back and forth among lands numerous as the sands of the Ganges, fully endowed with light and marks, transforming living beings without indolence. Thirty-one hundred million fetters are severed and extinguished; entangled erroneous thoughts numbering twenty-two thousand; possessing eighteen superior, unshared dharmas, they manifest and teach, receiving the realization of fearlessness.'

3.58

At that time the Bhagavat spoke a verse, saying:

3.59

"For countless kalpas I have come and gone along the paths of birth and death; / abandoning bodies and taking up bodies, never free from birth through the womb. / If I reckon what I have undergone, recording one without mentioning the rest: / merely in the forms of white dogs, my accumulated bones would make a hundred million Mount Sumerus. / If one pierced the earth-element with a needle, there is nowhere it would not strike my body; / how much more so for dogs of other colours—their number cannot be measured! / Therefore I gathered in my mind, not allowing the Way to lapse into heedlessness. / It is like a person standing atop Mount Sumeru holding the medicine of immortality: / a person below receives it with a jar, pouring the medicine without spilling a drop, / while amidst the hardships between them, the vairambha wind blows. / The body of an ordinary person is like dust, save only those who enter the [true] abiding. / Between these two persons holding the jar, which is the most wondrous? / The person below maintains a correct mind, constantly fearing swaying east and west; / receiving the medicine without losing its purpose, it is therefore called the way of the ṛddhipādas. / The one above possesses a mind of great benevolence, speaking once without further inquiry; / mental consciousnesses are each distinct, and the attainment of the Way is also like this. / In this Sahā World of mine, attaining buddhahood depends on the person below; / only by accumulating practices for an asaṃkhyeya [of kalpas] can one attain the Buddha Way. / From realm to realm, thus across thousands of kotis of them: / it is like dropping a needle into the ocean and stretching out one's hand to find it immediately. / Seeking it without wisdom by bailing out the water, one cannot find it even after accumulated kalpas. / Foolish and deluded people in the world do not distinguish between good and bad actions: / the mountain of four jewels, Mount Sumeru, they call a heap of ashes; / the king of birds that flies on golden wings, they claim is a mosquito or gnat; / the worm in a cow's footprint in summer's heat does not see the vastness of the ocean; / the sun's light is in truth a mirage, yet fools call it a blaze of fire. / Those dharmas were not created by me; foolish, deluded actions are accomplished of themselves. / The consciousness that enters and leaves without interval, when refined with diligence, brings about the arts of the Way."

3.60

At that time, the Bhagavat immediately uttered this dhāraṇī:

3.62

At that time, the Great Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa rose from his seat, touched his head and face to the Buddha's feet, [and said,] "I shall protect good people, good men, and good women who practice the Dharma, protecting the three lights and three shadows of their bodies. What are the three lights and three shadows? Just as today I command the host of rākṣasas: the body's shadow, the body's body-shadow, and the shadow's shadow."

3.63

"What is the body's shadow? What is the body's body-shadow? What is the shadow's shadow?" At that time, the Bhagavat spoke in verse, saying:

3.64

"The body is an aggregation of the four great elements, formed of earth, water, fire, and wind; / where it comes and goes and revolves about, even when abiding, no abiding is seen. / As for the body and the body's body, throughout life year by year it casts off the body; / the meaning of the three phrases of the shadow's shadow is like the Buddha leaving behind his spiritual light. / Fine white cloth wrapped around mṛgamada remains fragrant where the perfume has left; / this essential Dharma of the Buddhas is pure, free from blemish or defilement. / The body's body-shadow brings about transformation, delivering those who could not be delivered; / or seeing the Dharma of physical marks, one enters samādhi with mindfulness of the body's body; / free of doubt concerning the shadow's shadow, all will attain the unsurpassed Way."

3.65

At that time, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, wishing to protect the Dharma masters, immediately uttered this dhāraṇī:

3.67

"I shall protect the Dharma masters within a radius of a hundred billion yojanas, so that there will be none who harass or disturb them."

3.68

The Heavenly King Virūḍhaka then rose from his seat, went forward, and addressed the Buddha, saying, "I too shall protect the true Dharma masters." He then uttered this dhāraṇī:

3.70

"Let there be none who harass or disturb them within a radius of a hundred billion yojanas."

3.71

The Heavenly King Virūpākṣa then rose from his seat, touched his head and face to [the Buddha's] feet, went forward, and addressed the Buddha, saying, "Bhagavat! I shall protect the true Dharma masters." He then uttered this dhāraṇī:

3.73

"Let there be none who harass or disturb them within a radius of ten billion yojanas." At that time, the Bhagavat spoke in verse, saying:

3.74

"The wondrous colour and fragrance of the flowers move all the Buddha lands; / from non-conception and non-thought, the Buddha attains the single-minded Way of buddhahood. / The power of patience has no boundaries, shattering existence and non-existence as well as the two vehicles. / The bodily marks of whole-body śarīra, together with the fine and subtle particles of dust, / deliver beings equal [in number] to the sands of the Ganges, keeping them from falling into the three evil destinies. / The Buddha appears throughout kalpas of arduous toil, providing shelter and practising great benevolence; / sentient beings are boundless, yet he causes them to attain the unsurpassed Way."

3.75

At that time, thirty-two billion sentient beings in the assembly resolved their minds on the unsurpassed, equal Way.

3.76

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra: Chapter 10: Permanence and Impermanence

3.77

At that time, there was a bodhisattva in the assembly named Contemplating Impermanence, who rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, joined his palms with fingers clasped, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "Excellent, excellent, Bhagavat! You have spoken this meaning so well! The true Dharma of the Buddhas is inconceivable, beyond what arhats and pratyekabuddhas can reach. The fundamental non-existence of true nature cannot be exhausted. The Tathāgata descends in physical form, emerging in one and entering in another, transforming without limit—sometimes as broken-body śarīra, sometimes as whole-body śarīra, sometimes hidden and not appearing, sometimes circulating throughout the world, sometimes manifesting the realm of a single Buddha, sometimes manifesting the realms of several Buddhas. His ṛddhipāda transformations and power in the Way are sovereign, exceedingly rare and extraordinary! Like the realm of space, it is permanent yet impermanent, impermanent yet impermanent, abiding yet non-abiding, non-abiding yet non-abiding, undergoing non-singular changes. I wish to hear from the Tathāgata an explanation of the meaning of permanence and impermanence. As I am today in the nine bhūmis, is this permanent? Or is it impermanent?"

3.78

At that time, the Bhagavat said to the Bodhisattva Permanence-Impermanence: "I will now question you, and you must answer me in accordance with the true nature. How is it, son of good family? Is form permanent?"

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菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 — Classical Chinese